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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24602323">New Thing</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/a_made_up_name/pseuds/a_made_up_name'>a_made_up_name</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Unus Annus - Fandom</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - College/University, College, F/F, I don't really know what this is, M/M, Party, Recreational Drug Use, ethan's in high school, highly fluffy, i have low tolerance for angst, kinda slow burn?, mark's in college, so expect some naive optimism :), the boys are just friends with amy and mika, tyler and ethan are best friends</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 08:02:08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>8,413</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24602323</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/a_made_up_name/pseuds/a_made_up_name</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When Ethan's best friend,Tyler, graduated high school a year before him, he was worried his senior year was destined to be bad. Although things seem to be off to a much better start than he'd anticipated (largely because of his incredibly cool new best friend, Mika), he can't wait to finally visit Tyler at college as soon as the opportunity arises. There, he meets Tyler's roommate, Mark, who ends up being a pretty cool dude, I guess.</p><p>(this summary is awful i apologize, but hopefully u get the gist)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Mark Fischbach/Ethan Nestor, Mika Midgett/Original Female Character</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>129</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>this is my first fanfic so pls be nice,,<br/>also this is not meant to represent any of the genuine feelings of the people mentioned in this story! i don't actually ship mark and ethan, i'm just too dumb to create my own original characters, and i love the dynamic they have. i love the girls so so much and i mean no disrespect to them!!!<br/>respect these people's privacy!! none of this shit is to be shared!!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>If there was one thing Ethan would reverse about his high school experience, it would be becoming friends with a senior. Ok, no- if it was as simple as that, he’d probably be fine. Of course he’d still suffer when they graduated, and maybe he’d wallow a bit before getting back into the groove of things, but this was far worse. He’d become <em> best </em> friends with a senior, and now he was sitting in his room, alone, fully taking in this tragedy for the first time.</p><p>Pretty much from the beginning Ethan had been a little bit of an outsider to most of the guys in his town. He was just a little more enthusiastic, or a little less masculine, or just a tad less straight than pretty much every boy he’d grown up around. Then, in 9th grade, he met Tyler, a new kid in the grade above. Tyler wasn’t all that similar to Ethan at first glance; he was into sports, presented as a pretty masculine dude, and didn’t suffer from the same seemingly chronic awkwardness that Ethan did. But he was an outsider too, being one of very few kids at that school who hadn’t been born and raised in this town, and after they were paired up for a lab project a few weeks into the first semester, the two had immediately hit it off. </p><p>They balanced each other out flawlessly. Ethan hadn’t felt as good about himself as he did around Tyler in a long time, and he loved his friendship with the other more than anything. And that was the problem. Because now, of course, Tyler would be graduating, moving out of their little town as fast as possible (Ethan could not blame him for this). And Ethan would be left feeling back at square one for another full year. It fucking sucked.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>3 months later…</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>“Hey babe, what’s up?”</p><p>Bella leaned in to hug Flo before standing back upright, flicking her satiny hair back and pressing her lip gloss-covered mouth together for a moment. Flo smiled back, her perfect white teeth glimmering.</p><p>“I’m in love again!”</p><p>Bella rolled her eyes and pulled Flo along as they made their way to their lunch table.</p><p>“Jesus Christ, not again- who is it then? Another hopeless case I presume?”</p><p> </p><p>Mika was sitting at her usual seat, a table over from the most gorgeous friend group their high school had. Sometimes she wished she could hate these girls just to make them easier to be around, but they were actually nice!! It wasn’t fair!! (this was an issue Mika had spent a lot of time thinking about).</p><p>Anyway, it was a spot in the cafeteria which Mika prided herself on having claimed for her and her friends, because the eavesdropping was truly of unmatched quality. Right now she was fumbling with her books a little self consciously - it was still early enough in the period that none of her friends had made it to the cafeteria yet, so she was sitting alone. When Bella and Flo made their way over, Mika tried to look busy, putting in earbuds and pulling out a notebook, not bothering to select any music. She only caught snippets of what the girls were saying to one another, but it was enough to vaguely catch her interest.</p><p>-”-got to be fucking joking Flo. That kid?”</p><p>“Hey! He’s not the same as he used to be! I just think he’s cute, ok? And just cause..”</p><p>Here Mika got distracted as she saw Henry and Abby walking in and waved them over. She was ready to completely forget about the girls’ conversation- it was nothing unusual- until she heard one last fragment of Bella’s exasperated response to Flo’s latest crush:</p><p>“Babe, this is <em>Ethan</em> we’re talking about. You think you would seriously date him?”</p><p>She smiled a little to herself. Even if Bella was making fun of her for it, if Flo had a crush on Ethan that was a good sign for his overall image. And to be honest, if Mika weren’t so preoccupied being into Flo, and so certain she and Ethan were the perfect (<em>platonic) </em> combo, she would probably have started paying serious attention to Ethan lately too -</p><p>He’d been mopey right after Tyler left, but now he was fully getting back into himself again, and was lowkey experiencing the biggest glow up of their grade. His acne had started clearing up over the summer and now it was almost completely gone, and he’d started seriously working out again for the first time after quitting gymnastics a couple years ago. Not to mention, he’d finally figured out fashion! And the clothes he was wearing these days were properly flattering in a way that, apparently, was getting attention even from the most popular girl in school.</p><p>Speaking of which- it was at that moment that Ethan walked in, grinning over at Mika and running to catch up with Henry and Abby. As they all sat down Mika had to force herself not to laugh as she heard Flo and Bella suddenly get quiet, but luckily all the attention was quickly on Ethan.</p><p>“Guys! Guess what! Tyler invited me to come visit him this weekend! I’m gonna be hanging out with a bunch of cool <em> college </em> kids. I will obviously become so cool by association that I’ll have to ditch you guys. I’m sorry, y’know how it is though.”</p><p>“Ethan, you are ridiculous.”</p><p>“Actually though, that’s sick,”</p><p>“Yeah man, if you meet any hot college babes you’ll let me know right? And get me their numbers?”</p><p>“Oh of course my dude, of course. And obviously they’ll be all over me so I’m sure to find you the love of your life, just you wait.”</p><p> </p><p>…</p><p> </p><p>Ethan was extremely stressed. What the fuck was Tyler thinking? How was he supposed to just casually come spend the weekend with Tyler and a bunch of his probably incredibly cool and judgmental new friends when he was still a total loser high schooler? This was not good. This was not good at all. Not- it was not  good- it was--fuck. He needed to calm down. It would be fine. Tyler wouldn’t have invited him if he didn’t think Ethan would have a good time. But what if, after spending so long away from home, he totally forgot what Ethan liked? No, that was stupid. They’d seen each other at <em> least </em> twice a month ever since he’d left, and been talking online much more than that. There was no way Tyler could have gotten that far removed.</p><p>No. Tyler invited him because he thought it would be fun! This would be good. It would be ok. Worst case: he has a bad time and comes home a little sad! It’s not like anyone here would know about it!</p><p>This internal dialogue continued in a back and forth for the next few hours as Ethan showered and packed his bag, getting ready to leave that evening. He was rummaging under his bed for the little box where he’d put the weed he bought the other day (<em>No harm in bringing this, right? Maybe I can bribe them into liking me by providing the drugs!), </em>when he heard the doorbell ring.</p><p>“Coming!”</p><p>He ran downstairs and opened the door to find Mika grinning at him. </p><p>Mika had been a blessing. He’d been friendly with her for a few years, but never particularly close until Ethan realized that if Tyler was leaving he really needed to start being more friendly to more people. Mika immediately came into the picture as literally the perfect comforting friend who was also somehow extremely cool. For a while Ethan was worried that things would slip into “more than friends” territory, but that was quickly dealt with when Mika started confiding in him about her massive crush on Flo. </p><p>Anyway, Mika had seen how upset Ethan was about Tyler moving away, so she made it her personal mission to cheer him up, and they’d become super close over the past few months. Now it was practically a daily occurrence for one of them to show up at the other’s house unannounced and hang out for hours.</p><p>“Hey Meeks! Come in! I can’t hang out for long though, I-”</p><p>“I know, I know, your big fancy trip to the cool college with the cool college kids”</p><p>Ethan put on a look of mock outrage.</p><p>“Hey! It is cool!”</p><p>“I know Eth. It’s very cool.” </p><p>They headed back upstairs to Ethan’s room.</p><p>“Anyway, I can’t stay for long either, but I thought I should deliver some important top secret information before you left,” Mika added, making herself comfortable at Ethan’s desk as he resumed his search for the metal tin.</p><p>“Oooh top secret information? Tell me tell me!” His words were muffled as his head was almost completely under the bed at this point.</p><p>Mika laughed, “Ok, I know you’re obviously the coolest person in the world, but I thought this might give you an extra boost of confidence in case you might hypothetically be a tiny bit nervous about spending a weekend with Tyler’s new friends,”</p><p>Ethan finally emerged, clutching the box victoriously, and looking up at Mika curiously, signaling her to go on.</p><p>“<em>Someone </em>, and I’ll add that this is a very significant someone, perhaps the most significant someone it could be, thinks you’re (and I quote:) ‘cute’!”</p><p>“What? Wait, wait, who?! Who thinks I’m cute!? Good cute? Or, like, condescend-y cute?”</p><p>“No, no, good cute, definitely good cute. I heard Bella and Flo talking this morning and apparently you’re Flo’s latest obsession! I mean we know that doesn’t mean she’ll realistically stick with it for longer than a week, and I know you’re not interested in her, but she was, like, fully defending you against Bella when she was surprised about it!“</p><p>“Woahhh, for real? No way.”</p><p>“Yeah dude! She was talking about how much you’ve changed in the past couple years and she went on about it for a while- like I didn’t even hear all the things she said.”</p><p>“Holy shit. Flo thinks I’m cute. That’s insane.”</p><p>“You’re welcome,” Mika grinned at the look of genuine awe on Ethan’s face.</p><p>“Not that I’m surprised,” she added quickly.</p><p>Blushing now, Ethan tried to change the subject, but he couldn’t help but silently thank Mika for weirdly psychically knowing exactly what he needed to hear at that moment.</p><p> </p><p>Eventually it was time for Mika to leave and for Ethan to start the drive up to Tyler’s school. </p><p>When he finally reached the campus, he pulled into the car park outside a mall complex and called Tyler.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey Eth! Yeah, I’ll be out in just a sec, sorry,”</p><p>“All good, all good,”</p><p> </p><p>When Tyler came into view, walking around the corner of the building, Ethan almost felt himself get emotional, but let the feeling fade as a grin pushed itself onto his face and he hopped out of the car. It reassured him a little when he saw a slight shine in Tyler’s eyes, even as they laughed and hugged in reunion. </p><p>“Fuck dude, I missed you. You’re gonna love everyone." The two pulled apart after a moment.</p><p>There’s a party tonight we were thinking we’d go to, and then tomorrow we can just hang out. Does that sound ok?” </p><p>“Yeah, that sounds great. Can you give me directions and I’ll drive?”</p><p> </p><p>When they stopped at a red light in town, Ethan got distracted for a moment looking at the guy walking out of a shop.</p><p>
  <em> What the fuck? Why is his hair so nice? Look at his arm holding that bag,,, </em>
</p><p>“Shit, dude, college guys are hot,”</p><p>Tyler burst out laughing.</p><p>“Yeah, man. I mean just look at me.”</p><p>“Oof, you're right, maybe this guy was just an exception, then.”</p><p>Tyler just laughed again.</p><p> </p><p>...</p><p> </p><p>They pulled up at a house on the outskirts of campus. It was big-- enough space for Tyler and his 3 roommates to be comfortable, and surrounded by a series of more of the same buildings.   </p><p>Walking up the stairs behind Tyler, Ethan felt a bit nervous. He paused on the top step, and Tyler turned to him, sensing his hesitation, with an earnest expression on his face.</p><p>“Listen, man. I promise that everyone will love you. I wouldn’t have invited you to spend all this time with the whole group if I didn’t genuinely think that. But they’re here all the time, and you’re not, so if it feels gross to you at any point, promise you’ll tell me, ok? We can always spend this weekend just hanging out, the two of us, but I thought you might have fun with the guys. You'll let me know if you want out, yeah?”</p><p>Ethan smiled, remembering how thoughtful Tyler could really be, and he immediately felt his fears lessen.</p><p>“Yeah, sounds good. Thanks, Ty.”</p><p>“Don’t even worry about it,” he grinned, and they opened the door to an immediate bustle of sound and energy.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>hi again! that took me way too long, but what can i say? i'm one of the best procrastinators i've ever known. hope you enjoy!! this is kind of a mess, but i'm committed to finishing it now, so you're stuck with me.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Tyler called out to his friends, and the two guys came around the corner from what appeared to be the kitchen.</p><p>“Ethan! Man! Good to meet you finally”</p><p>“Welcome, dude!”</p><p>The two of them spoke up in unison, and Ethan grinned back.</p><p>“Hey, thanks for having me,”</p><p>“It’s all good, man. I’m Sam, and this is George. Mark should be back in a few, he’s just buying drinks.”</p><p>“Come on in!”</p><p> </p><p>The four of them settled in the kitchen where they waited for the pizza snacks to come out of the microwave and caught up. Although Ethan was still a little self conscious, he was relieved to find that George and Sam were genuinely very nice. There were definitely still a few moments where the silence was just a tad too self-aware to be comfortable, but Ethan was happy to sit back and let Tyler and his friends lead the conversation, pitching in occasionally.</p><p> </p><p>*</p><p>Tyler eased into the conversation, keeping an eye on Ethan. He’d underestimated how much he’d missed his friend, and having him back was finally making him realize it. He made a mental note to check in with Ethan about the drive up, and if he’d be willing to visit more often. If, that is, the rest of the weekend went well. He was pretty confident his friends all liked Ethan, but still, things could always turn in a new direction..</p><p>He found himself brought back into the present by the sight of Ethan choking on his drink and blushing. As he followed his line of sight, Tyler couldn’t help but grin.</p><p>“Mark! Come here and meet Ethan! Did you get everything?”</p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p>Mark smiled easily and closed the door behind him before walking over, and Ethan felt his cheeks getting even redder. He was even more attractive up close.</p><p>Trying to be subtle, he kicked Tyler sharply in the ankle.</p><p>“You bastard,” he whispered before moving to greet Mark.</p><p>“Hey! What’s up, man?”</p><p>“Hi, Ethan! Nice to finally meet you,” Mark nodded with a friendly look, before moving past the group to put down the drinks on the counter.</p><p> </p><p>Sam sprung up from his lazy lean against the counter.</p><p>“Ok, gang, it’s time for you all to witness my impeccable skills as a cocktail artist.”</p><p> </p><p>The flurry of energy of the kitchen was restored as Sam prepared drinks for the group. They drank and joked (and repeatedly reassured themselves that alcohol and fruit juice did not tarnish their masculinity) for the next half hour or so, and then headed outside.</p><p>Ethan followed everyone out the door, slightly confused (don’t blame him for being a bit of a lightweight, okay?! Things were just getting a little hard for him to follow!).</p><p>Suddenly he felt the warmth of someone behind his back, a steadying presence on his shoulder guiding him in the right direction. A deep voice seemed to resonate in his ear,</p><p>“The party’s just around the corner. We tend to walk there and back since campus is pretty small. Don’t worry though, it’s not a long walk”</p><p>The voice alone was enough to make Ethan blush, but when he realised it was <em> Mark </em> speaking to him, the combination of factors (alcohol, Mark’s face, Mark’s voice, Mark’s hand touching him- you get the gist) made him extremely grateful for the lack of light outside.</p><p>“Ohh, ha ha, okay. Th-that makes sense,”</p><p>He stumbled slightly again, and felt Mark tighten his grip ever so slightly before letting go once he found his balance.</p><p>“So, is this your first college party, Ethan?”</p><p>“Uh, yeah, I guess so. I haven’t had any college friends before, until Tyler decided to be a loser and graduate," (he spoke loudly and got a punch in the arm from Tyler in return), "so I never had the chance. What do you think, have I been missing out?”</p><p>“Nahh, I don’t think so. Although to be fair, parties have never really been my thing, so I don’t particularly feel the appeal. There have been a couple good ones here though, for sure. You should come visit more often if you end up liking it! You’re totally welcome to stay at the house.”</p><p>“Aw, thanks, man. But that’s a dangerous offer- if you’re not careful, I’m gonna start wasting all my money on gas just to make the journey up here and bother you guys.”</p><p>Mark laughed and Ethan liked the way he could just make out the crinkles in his face in the slight light of the street lamps.</p><p> </p><p>When they arrived at the party, Ethan felt a little overwhelmed by the sudden sound and smells of beer and weed which radiated out from the space, the whole scene more intense than he was used to in every way. But then he saw Tyler’s excited grin, and felt Mark brush behind him as they filed inside, and a warmer, bubbly feeling settled in his stomach instead.</p><p>He found that, having loosened up with the cocktails earlier, he actually settled into the party pretty quickly. He wandered away from the group as they began to spread out, looking for a drink.</p><p>As he reached into the mini fridge to pull out a beer, he noticed someone nearby, looking over at him. He stood up, opened the can, and took a slow sip before raising his eyes to the guy who’d been standing over him.</p><p>“Hey there, pretty. I haven’t seen you around before, have I?”</p><p>“Oh, no, I don’t go here,” Ethan felt his cheeks go a little pink at the name, but also felt a rush of confidence. This, he could do.</p><p>“What’s your name?”</p><p>“I’m Ethan. What’s yours?”</p><p>“Ben. You wanna go talk somewhere?”</p><p>“Yeah, ok. Let’s head over there,”</p><p> </p><p>They ended up making out for a bit--which Ethan counted as a win (making out with a college boy could now be crossed off his high school wish list)-- but he didn’t really feel like going any further. </p><p>“Aw, did I do something wrong?”</p><p>“No, no. You’re sweet. I just feel like finding my friends right now. Sorry.”</p><p>With a slightly frustrated look, Ben stepped back. </p><p>“O-Okay. Fine. Yeah, go find your friends.”</p><p>With a final, “sorry!” Ethan ran a hand through his hair and stepped back out into the chaotic main room. He immediately spotted Mark sitting on a sofa, looking tiredly amused as a girl who was clearly extremely intoxicated gestured enthusiastically while she spoke to him.</p><p>Seeing that he appeared to be preoccupied, Ethan was about to turn his attention away and look for Tyler when Mark turned his head and saw Ethan hovering slightly unsure of himself in a doorway.</p><p>He excused himself from the one-sided conversation he’d been roped into as graciously as possible before standing to meet the younger boy,</p><p>His eyebrows raised slightly at the tousled hair and pink lips, he greeted Ethan,</p><p>“You look like you’ve been having some fun?”</p><p>He held back a laugh when the fun-haver in question looked sheepishly away.</p><p>“No, not- not really. I mean, yeah, but like, y’know, not--” Ethan made a noise of frustration at his lack of ability to articulate what he was trying to.</p><p>Now Mark couldn’t help but let out the laugh, but he hoped it didn’t come across too harshly.</p><p>“Wait, are you not- didn’t you- uh, are you not drinking?” Ethan looked up at Mark’s face with a slightly comic earnestness.</p><p>It took a moment for him to realise he needed to respond.</p><p>“Oh, uh, no, I can’t drink. I get an allergic reaction.”</p><p>“Fuck, dude! I’m sorry. That sucks.”</p><p>“It’s ok,” Mark chuckled, but he hardly got it out before Ethan was continuing in the same serious tone,</p><p>“But you can smoke, right? Do you wanna? I have some, if you want to go outside,”</p><p>He hadn’t been planning on doing anything tonight, since he felt guilty leaving his group of friends without one sober person to watch over them, even if they didn’t need a designated driver. But this was kind of a special occasion, right? It wasn’t every day that an unfairly cute guy was coming to stay, and it certainly wasn't every day that such a guy would offer to smoke with him. </p><p>Reassured by the fact that Sam and George seemed totally fine on the other side of the room playing beer pong, and knowing that Tyler was never really the type to overdo it, Mark agreed, and followed Ethan out to the back porch.</p><p>Once they sat down, he began to worry about whether this had been a good idea, since Ethan seemed pretty drunk, and he didn’t want him to go too far.</p><p>Ethan just laughed,</p><p>“No, Mark, don’t worry, I’m really not <em> that </em>drunk. I’m honestly kind of like this all the time, even without alcohol. Promise.”</p><p>Worries mostly assuaged, Mark watched and let himself get engrossed in the process of Ethan rolling and sealing the joint. He was pulled out of his trance when he noticed Ethan’s fingers raising the joint up to his mouth.</p><p>With an amused but intent look on his face, Ethan insisted.</p><p>“<em>Open, </em> Mark.”</p><p>Parting his lips, the older of the two felt the paper slip just into his mouth and held it there as Ethan pulled out a lighter to start it.</p><p>Once the embers were burning he took a deep inhale and then another, letting a buzzy calm sink over him before passing it over to Ethan.</p><p>The younger felt the slight wet of the paper against his own just-licked lips, and vaguely noted that they were sharing spit, before shifting his focus back to the task at hand.</p><p>After a couple of hits they agreed to pinch out the joint and put it away for another time, confident that they’d had their fill for the night.</p><p>They sat back against the wood of the house and watched the night sky, and Ethan felt a growing and exhilarating contentment. </p><p>Things had turned out OK. He’d been worried for so long about everything this year would bring, but look at him now! Tyler was still, somehow, one of his best friends, and the situation at Tyler’s college seemed like a good one; if he could regularly come see Tyler and get the benefit of this ridiculously nice and hot Mark guy, and Sam and George who seemed like they could be genuine friends, what could possibly be the downside!? And the fact that Tyler’s friends (especially Mark) seemed to like him was also really adding to the current buoyancy of Ethan’s mood. People <em> liked </em> him, here!</p><p>He sighed happily, and felt Mark’s gaze turn on him. Feeling a sudden rush of confidence, he spoke.</p><p>“So tell me about yourself, Mark. I don’t usually light up with just anyone. We’ve got to see if you’re worthy, y’know?”</p><p>Mark laughed and Ethan basked in it.</p><p>“I don’t know, dude. There’s not much to tell. What do you want to know?”</p><p>Ethan learned that Mark was studying engineering, that he liked the colors red and yellow, that he planned on buying a dog as soon as he was out of college-owned housing, and that he was afraid of frogs. Ethan also learned that he himself found all of these things more endearing than was probably reasonable.</p><p>The buzzing feeling he got from Mark talking to him and laughing at his jokes, combined with the elation his cross-fade had provided, caused Ethan to stand up suddenly, and firmly grab the other’s hand to raise him to his feet. It was these same factors which caused Ethan to keep his hold on Mark’s hand for maybe a fraction longer than absolutely necessary once they were both up.</p><p>Mark was looking at him, wide-eyed, very bewildered by this sudden movement. </p><p>Finally the silence was broken by a particularly loud shriek from inside, and Ethan dropped Mark’s hand, clearing his throat,</p><p>“Uh, sorry. That was weird. I just wanted to go inside again. Can we? Would you mind?”</p><p>“‘Course! Whatever you want.”</p><p>And Ethan felt himself melting a little bit as they walked inside.</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>yikess sorry this took me so long to update, i wasn't really feeling it. i haven't spent enough time proofreading or editing this (and it's also a bit shorter than i was aiming for with my chapters) but i wanted to just get something out so hopefully it's ok! i have the next chapter all planned out so that should be out soon!!</p><p>edit: i did a little editing of all 3 chapters and i think they feel a little better now! hoping to have the 4th out by the end of this week :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Once they made it home (and immediately collapsed onto the nearest comfortable surface), the early morning went by unnoticed until the light through the blinds became too powerful, and the boys awoke with pounding headaches.</p><p>I say “the boys”, but Ethan, perhaps our favorite boy, was still dead asleep in the main room.</p><p>As they looked down at his completely still face, Tyler laughingly told his friends about the time Ethan had failed to wake up even after an earthquake one morning set off a bunch of car alarms on the street outside the window.</p><p> </p><p>When he was the one elected to go out and buy some proper breakfast food, Mark offered to join him. </p><p>The relative quiet next to him as they headed out immediately warned Tyler that something was on the other’s mind. Normally Mark kept a sort of running commentary the whole time they were together, even this early in the morning.</p><p>“So,” Mark finally began, “Ethan seems cool! I mean, everyone seems to like him and stuff,”</p><p>A glint of understanding found its way into Tyler’s expression.</p><p>“Yeah, I’m glad you all get on so well. You like him?”</p><p>“Uh, yeah.  I- ok. If this is weird, you can just tell me to back off, cause I don’t want to do anything weird, but, like, is he- is Ethan into guys? And/or is he single?”</p><p>Tyler couldn’t help but smirk a little. </p><p>“Yeah, man. Both. You planning something?”</p><p>Mark began to scratch the back of his neck.</p><p>“Uhm, maybe? I don’t know, not really. He just seems cool.”</p><p>“Yeah? He is, man. He likes you too, I think”</p><p> </p><p>That was just about as much of a go-ahead as Mark needed to begin pretty much shamelessly flirting with Ethan.</p><p>It began the moment they arrived back at the house with breakfast. </p><p>Ethan was still, somehow, passed out in the main room, so Mark leaned over on the way to the kitchen and ruffled his hair.</p><p>“Wake up sleepy-head,” he crooned in an over-the-top indulgent voice.</p><p>Ethan’s eyes finally opened and a fierce blush covered his cheeks. He laughed and pushed Mark away before sitting up properly and noticing that everyone else was clearly up.</p><p>“Ahh sorry guys, I sleep heavy. Is that food?” He perked up immediately at the sight of the bagels on the countertop and didn’t notice Mark who was maybe a little bit overwhelmed by how rough Ethan’s voice sounded, heavy with sleep, and how soft his hair looked (and <em> felt, </em> oh my god I had my hand in his hair <em> what) </em>.</p><p>Tyler, Sam, and George all looked a bit exasperated but amused at this whole situation.</p><p> </p><p>Unfortunately (or fortunately?) the "situation" continued throughout breakfast, with Ethan enjoying the attention but painfully oblivious to the fact that Mark was clearly interested in him. Rather than feeling excited about the back and forth they seemed to have or the mutual interest very much apparent to everyone but him, Ethan just felt a growing ache of pining for the other man and a sense of injustice at the fact that Mark was so perfect, and he, Ethan, couldn’t have him. </p><p>Tyler had failed to mention to Mark that his friend was one of the most oblivious people on Earth when it came to people flirting with him, but he supposed Mark would figure it out for himself quite quickly.</p><p> </p><p>Once they’d all finished eating, Tyler and Ethan began to plan their day together, and they determined that the whole group would reconvene for the evening before Ethan would head home the next morning. </p><p>The two of them had a relaxed day, catching up and feeling almost as if no time had passed since they’d lived just down the street from one another and been able to talk every day. And, if he was being honest, it was sort of a relief for Ethan to be able to completely forget about Mark and the bubbly kind of nervousness which followed him whenever Mark was in the same room.</p><p>It was good to just be with Tyler and really get to see how his friend was doing, and although it was impossible for him not to be reminded of just how great his friend was and how much he missed having him around like this all the time, Ethan genuinely felt like he could appreciate how lucky he was to even get this much time with the other. If they could figure out a way to do weekends like this more often, Ethan felt pretty sure this year would turn out to be a properly good one.</p><p>By the time the light started to fade and the clouds became tinged with orange-y pinks, Tyler and Ethan were on their way back to the house. Neither was really sure what they would do for the rest of the evening, but, inside, Mark had already made a plan.</p><p>Almost immediately he led the five boys back outside with a big bag in hand, and soon they found themselves on the grass beside the water (small lake? large pond?) at the park nearby. Mark had come prepared with takeout Indian food and drinks, and the evening played out as a lovely end to Ethan’s stay. By the end of the night, Ethan was comfortable, leaning up against Tyler but with Mark right there on his other side, close enough that he could feel the warmth coming off of him, and that Mark could tell when Ethan shivered slightly in the cooler evening air. </p><p>When the younger pulled Mark’s spare hoodie over his head he came up blushing at how nice the gesture was and how cozy he felt, practically drowning in the fabric of the oversized sweatshirt. </p><p>Mark grinned at how cute the whole image was.</p><p> </p><p>The next morning, after reluctantly forcing himself awake, Ethan made himself some coffee in the kitchen. Tyler was leaning against the counter, reminding Ethan to tell everyone back home that he said hi, and thanking him for coming to visit.</p><p>“No, dude, thank you for having me! This was so nice. Call me soon, ok? And, tell everyone I said bye?”</p><p>He was almost at the door, coffee in one hand, bag in the other, and Tyler agreed immediately. He was about to say something more, but then a door opened and closed loudly and Mark came into the main room, looking fresh out of bed. </p><p>“Ethan! Hey! I just wanted to catch you before you left. It was nice meeting you.”</p><p>Ethan grinned. </p><p>“Yeah, man. I’m super glad we met.”</p><p>He uttered a last goodbye before beginning to fumble with the door handle. Mark was there in an instant to help him, and Tyler excused himself quickly to get something or... something. Ethan didn’t really hear what his friend was saying, if he’s being honest. He was a little too focused on how close Mark was to him, and how big he seemed standing over him and reaching around him to the doorknob.</p><p>“Uh, thanks,” Ethan said, flustered.</p><p>He stepped out to bring his bag to his car, and Mark followed.</p><p>“Hey, uh, we should stay in touch, if you want. You seem like a cool dude. Can I give you my number?”</p><p>Ethan was ashamed of how excited he was in this moment- especially when he thought about the fact that Mark probably just saw this as being friendly, to a <em>friend</em>. But he embraced it nonetheless.</p><p>“Definitely! Here, put it in.”</p><p>He balanced his coffee in the awkward grip he had on his bag in order to reach into his pocket for his phone.</p><p>If he felt a little awkward just standing there as Mark typed his number in, it blended in so well with all the other nerves he was feeling that he hardly even noticed.</p><p> </p><p>It was only once Ethan had put his bag into the car and coffee into the cupholder and gotten back his phone that Tyler reemerged from the house.</p><p>“Sorry about that. Here, give me a hug my man. It was good to see you.”</p><p>The last sentence he spoke was muffled in Ethan’s shoulder, and after a final squeeze they stood back, and Ethan got into his car to start the engine.</p><p>With a final wave and a grin, Ethan pulled away onto the main street, feeling oddly elated at the sight that lingered in his mind’s eye of Tyler and Mark waving brightly in the rearview mirror. </p>
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<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>lots more mika!!! and would ya look at that ! an attempt at angst ! still Very minimal tho and to be quickly resolved  🤡 🤡</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>there will be a lil more angst in the next chapter as we approach the finish line, but if u think im not giving these folks a glorious happy ending ur a fool.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The weekend had been pretty uneventful back home. Mika was sitting at her kitchen table with a slightly too milky bowl of cereal when the clock struck 7 Monday morning, having spent the past few days lounging about the house and taking her dog for a few walks. She didn’t really mind, but it couldn’t be called a fun time.</p><p>On the walk to school she regretted the fact that Ethan had been late to get out of bed <em> again </em> (although he was good and apologetic in the text he’d sent to warn her), meaning she had to arrive alone.</p><p>She quickly settled into her seat in her first period class, chemistry, and was absorbed in her phone when she suddenly noticed someone standing above her.</p><p>“Uh, hi Mika. Sorry to bother you, but do you have a pencil I could borrow? Mine just broke and no one else is here yet.”</p><p>Mika almost stammered as she reached into her bag to pull out a pencil. What was <em> Flo </em> doing asking <em> her </em> for a pencil? Not that she was complaining.</p><p>“Sure! Here, one sec.”</p><p>The smile she got in return was well worth sacrificing her only extra pencil.</p><p>“Thanks!”</p><p> </p><p>Feeling a little confused by this sudden interaction, Mika was only more surprised by the bright hello she got from Flo in the hallway later that day, and was starting to worry this was some kind of prank.</p><p>Airing her thoughts to Ethan as they walked home, he immediately shut her down.</p><p>“Mika, she’s just being friendly! There’s no way she’s got some mean ulterior motives. I promise. Just embrace it! This is your chance!”</p><p>She groaned slightly in response. </p><p>As much as she thought Flo was gorgeous (and nice, and funny, and surprisingly grounded-), the thought of actually flirting or trying to make anything happen was a bit of a stretch for her. And who knew if Flo would even be remotely interested in dating a girl? She’d certainly never mentioned anything about it (although Mika prided herself on sensing these things, and she had some suspicions).</p><p>“I don’t know, I don’t know. I’ll just be nice back, I guess. And maybe this was just a thing today, anyway. I’m sure things will be back to what they were before by tomorrow. Now tell me about Tyler! How was it? Were his friends nice?”</p><p>Mika listened, smiling, as Ethan described his stay, and took note of the way he blushed when he mentioned “Mark.”</p><p>“So is Mark single?” Mika cut Ethan off on his ramble about how pretty the sky was during their picnic. </p><p>Ethan went silent. </p><p>“Fuck! I hadn’t even thought of that. I don’t know! Ugh, he’s probably dating someone gorgeous.”</p><p>“But you definitely like him, right?”</p><p>“Uh, yeah, I guess so”</p><p>“Listen, if he didn’t mention anyone the whole weekend, and he didn’t seem like he was dating anyone at the party, I’d say your odds are pretty good.”</p><p>“Ugh, I don’t know. Hopefully.”</p><p>“Hey! Cheer up! That sounds like it was a good trip, and from what you’ve told me I think Mark sounds like great news. Do you have his number?”</p><p>“Yeah,”</p><p>“Ethan! That’s good in itself! Text him, you idiot. I’m sure you’re destined to fall in love and get married or some shit.”</p><p>“You’re right, I should at least try being in touch. Ugh, ok, bye!! I promise to get up on time tomorrow!!” Ethan exclaimed as he turned down the street towards his house.</p><p>As Mika continued ahead she thought to herself. As much as she was genuinely excited for Ethan, it kind of sucked to know that he was having all this romantic luck and getting so much attention, while she was stuck pining over the most unattainable girl in school. The memory of Flo’s friendliness that day made her feel warm for a moment, but it was with a shaky, questioning sort of hope that she went to sleep that night.</p><p>Ethan, on the other hand, was beaming. Before he’d even made it up to his bedroom he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and saw that Mark had beat him to it.</p><p><b>mark - </b>Hey Ethan! Whats up?</p><p>He quickly typed back,</p><p><b>ethan - </b>hi! nothing much, just got home</p><p><b>ethan</b> <b>-</b> how are u doing?</p><p><b>mark</b> <b>-</b> I’m good thanks, I just wanted to ask if you’d want to come back to stay next weekend? There’s a fair thing starting that friday that might be fun</p><p> </p><p>Ethan looked down at his phone blushing, and realized he was still standing just inside the door. He sat down on his bed before he remembered something which made the excitement he was feeling dampen down a bit.</p><p> </p><p><b>ethan - </b>ahhh i wish i could but my friend has a basketball game on saturday that i dont want to miss</p><p><b>mark</b> <b>-</b> :(</p><p><b>ethan - </b>i could probably come the weekend after that though, would that work?</p><p><b>mark - </b>Yes! Do it! </p><p><b>mark - </b>I haven’t talked to Tyler though so I can check with him tonight</p><p><b>ethan - </b>nah dw i’ll text him now</p><p>
  <b>mark liked your message</b>
</p><p> </p><p>By the following Friday, Mika was reeling. The whole situation with Flo had not been a one-off, as she’d convinced herself. On Tuesday, Flo had asked to be partners on a project they were doing in chem, and she’d stopped by Mika’s table at the start of the lunch period to say hi and talk for a few minutes. The next day she was getting waves in the hallway almost every time they saw each other, and the day after that, Flo had asked Mika to come over to do some extra work on their project. </p><p>They’d ended up hanging out more than working, and by Friday morning Mika was shocked by how easily she and Flo hugged as a greeting. Even Bella was beginning (if somewhat hesitantly) to wave at her, and join in their conversation at lunch while Mika waited for her ever-late friends to show up.</p><p>Ethan insisted Flo was flirting, which Mika vehemently denied, but the attention she was getting was admittedly very nice. Somehow, they’d progressed, over the course of a week, from pretty much strangers, to Flo taking it for granted that she’d be at Mika’s game that weekend, cheering her on. </p><p>Mika watched out of the corner of her eye as Ethan and Flo talked in the bleachers. Both of them looked a little uncomfortable, but when they saw Mika watching them they both sat up and grinned at her. </p><p>Focusing back on the game, she heard Ethan’s unmistakeable laugh bursting out at the same time as Flo’s, and pushed down a slight feeling of jealousy that forced its way out.</p><p>After the game (they’d won!), Mika came out of the locker rooms to find Flo and Ethan chatting easily as they waited for her. </p><p>“Mika!! Congrats! You were so good. I’m definitely coming to the next game.” Mika blushed a little at Flo’s praise, and laughed.</p><p>“Hey, I’m just glad we didn’t totally fail while everyone was watching. There were more people here than usual.”</p><p>Ethan piped up, “Oh shut up, you’re always amazing. Listen, I have to get home to walk the dogs cause everyone else is out, but congrats!” he leaned in to hug Mika goodbye. “Oh, it was great talking to you Flo!” he called as he made for the door.</p><p>Mika and Flo waved him goodbye before turning back to each other.</p><p>“Hey, do you have any plans tonight? If you’re around I was thinking you could come over.”</p><p>Mika looked up at Flo in a moment of shock,</p><p>“Oh! Um, yeah! I mean, no I don’t have plans. I could come over, if you want.”</p><p>Flo laughed lightly.</p><p>“Yeah, let’s do it. I can drive.”</p><p> </p><p>Ethan had had a slightly different end to his week from Mika’s.</p><p>He’d texted Tyler after his conversation with Mark to ask about the following weekend, and Tyler had enthusiastically agreed, before adding Ethan to a group chat with everyone in the house. The next couple of days had made Ethan feel great about his friendship with the boys, and he was looking forward to going back up there to stay. </p><p>But then, on Thursday afternoon, he checked his phone and saw that the group chat had been talking earlier. He settled on his bed and scrolled up to the start of the new messages. Sam and George seemed to be teasing Mark about someone named Amy, and Ethan felt his heart sink as he kept reading.</p><p> </p><p><b>sam -</b> maaaarkkkkk i know u didnt forget</p><p><b>mark -</b> What?</p><p><b>sam - </b>amy’s coming home on monday</p><p><b>mark -</b> Yeah, ik</p><p><b>george - </b>oh come on we know ur excited out of ur mind</p><p><b>mark -</b> Dude, what?</p><p><b>sam -</b> george is right, u two have the most codependent relationship i’ve ever seen</p><p><b>george -</b> i'm surprised you’ve even survived this long wo her</p><p><b>tyler -</b> Lmao</p><p><b>mark - </b>Oh fuck off, its not like we’re married</p><p><b>sam - </b>it practically is, dude</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>Ethan was ashamed of the pressure he felt build behind his eyes. He knew it had been too good to be true. He’d thought he and Mark might have had something going- they’d texted a few more times after making the initial plan and he’d been so nice that Ethan had let his hopes get up. But of course, he had a girlfriend. He’d just seen Ethan as a friend. </p><p>After a night of letting himself indulge in feeling sad, he tried to pull himself together for the next morning. He didn't want to dampen Mika's mood which had been so good for the past couple of days by complaining about this. There was so much to be excited about! Mika was definitely getting somewhere with Flo, and even if he and Mark would never be a possibility romantically, he was still going to see Tyler again in a week’s time. Besides, Ethan was willing to just be friends with Mark, he supposed. </p><p>He put on a positive face for the next day of school, and managed to forget about the whole Mark situation for most of the day. </p><p>On his way to Mika’s game on Saturday, he couldn’t help but remember the conversation he and Mark had had about him coming to stay, and found himself annoyed by how giddy he’d felt at the sad face Mark had sent when Ethan said he couldn’t make it.</p><p>Once the game began, though, he was able to shift his focus to Mika and the game, and to Flo who had come to sit beside him. She ended up being much nicer and easier to talk to than Ethan had anticipated, and he found himself deciding he approved of her for Mika. He also left the game feeling entirely confident that Flo was into Mika. At least that was something to be happy about, he thought, getting into his car to head home.</p>
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<a name="section0005"><h2>5. the end?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>I lost all the good writing motivation this summer so I never finished fleshing out the last two chapters I had planned for this. Unus Annus is over which is Crazy and idk I thought I'd just post the notes I had for the last two chapters so anyone interested can see how the story ends :)</p>
<p>Maybe someday I'll come back and finish writing the full version, but for now I hope it's still somewhat enjoyable! Thanks to everyone who commented, it made me feel really nice every time &lt;3</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>He gets a call from mark that night but ignores it.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>We see mika at flo’s house being cute and having a good old fashioned sleepover. They talk and mika admits that she had been surprised by flo’s sudden friendliness and flo gets a little nervous saying “ahh idk you just seemed so nice and i suddenly realized we’d never really talked before, yk?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And its wholesome and they roast marshmallows on the stove and maybe drink a teensy bit and they’re lying on flo’s bed and mika tells her about ethan and how happy she is for him and flo asks if mika’s dated anyone, and mika says her answer (maybe yes, in like 7th grade for 2 weeks and then in 10th grade for a couple months??) and asks flo, who says no which really surprises mika. Flo laughs and is like, “yeah haha i always used to just move from one crush to the next without getting invested enough to actually try for a relationship or anything” and mika’s like “used to??” and flo says, “yeah it’s kinda been one person for a bit, and it feels different from other people ive been interested in. like, i think im going to stick this one out.” and mika feels a little worried for a sec that its ethan, but she pretends not to, and asks some questions: “who is it??”( and obv flo doesnt say) “do they go to our school?” yes “do i know them?” yes “how long have you liked them?” uhh probably since you gave that presentation in chem 2 weeks ago? But idk, i think it was kind of building to that point for a while.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And mika is in shock! She’s speechless! She stumbles over her words and tries to clarify, “wait, me????” and flo is like “yea”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So they kiss, and its tiny and quick and cute and they both start giggling and then they finish the movie they were watching and cuddle?? But its all v v wholesome and sweet.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The following morning maybe mika has some doubts and is worried flo didnt mean it, since neither of them has really addressed it again, but when flo is driving her home she says, “so, can we, like, date? Would that be ok?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And mika cant quite believe it so she maybe starts laughing excessively from relief? Nerves? But she says yes and flo gives her a little kiss on the corner of the mouth before she gets out and leaves. yay!!! </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>That morning ethan gets another call from mark but he’s still asleep. When he wakes up he sees that he left a voicemail where he sounds kind of nervous and sheepish? And he says that he knew ethan had plans saturday night but he was wondering if he was around during the day on sunday? Cause he wanted to come down to the town next to ethans to go to this specific store and he thought maybe he could meet ethan while he was there to hang out!</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And ethan almost says no, cause he knows it’ll just make him sad and pine-y but mark sounds so sincere and nice that he agrees.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They meet at a cafe and get coffee and then mark takes ethan with him to the specialized camping store that he’s obsessed with and they have a really nice time and it feels a little like a date and ethan decides to just go with it and let himself enjoy it and pretend. When they leave the store they go to a skatepark where ethan shows off a little and tries to teach mark, but mark is awful and at one point he’s falling and he grabs onto ethan and then they’re hugging and its a ~moment~ ; they stay like that for a second and then mark leans in to kiss ethan but he pushes him away and is flustered and apologizes like “i- i cant do that, mark. You’re too good to do that. Please don’t” and he’s so so sad and mark is like a wounded puppy :( </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He goes home and is sad and tyler comes to talk to him and mark says he feels awful about reading the situation wrong and explains that he’d tried to maybe kiss ethan cause he thought that was what they were both thinking but then ethan had pushed him away and seemed upset about it and now he doesn’t know what to do. And tyler is surprised cause he was pretty much certain than ethan liked mark so he talks to ethan, who is maybe a little hysterical and insists he would never try to ruin a relationship and tyler’s like, “dude, it wouldnt ruin ur relationship with mark to kiss him?! He wants to kiss u too bitch!!” And ethans all confused- “no, what? I meant his relationship with amy...right?” and tyler says, “no u dumb idiot. Go talk to mark.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And ethan is confused but has a little bit of hope now- are they in some kind of open relationship? Would he be willing to get involved in something like that?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So he calls mark to apologize and mark is apologizing too, and ethan explains, “but don’t you have a girlfriend?” and mark says no!!! Amy is my bfffl, we are a power duo, but i am not into girls !!” so ethan is like , “oh.” and apologies again and awkwardly asks mark out on a date and its CUUUTE</span>
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<p>
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<p>
  <span>We could have an epilogue where theyre at graduation and after, mika and flo are practically on eachothers laps sitting on the grass and being cute, while ethan runs over to hug tyler and mark (there’s a bros before hoes joke) and eth and mark have a cute lil kiss.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ethans mom took a picture of them all being glorious and cute and [somehow we make it clear] that they hold onto this picture forever and ever and it's adorable ;)</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>more chapters coming soon! pls let me know what u thought and kudos would be super appreciated bc i crave validation (:<br/>also if ur nice i'd also love any constructive criticism!!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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